TenchiMuyo! Hound of the Baskervilles
by Darknight Squire
Summary: When Sir Yosho Baskerville mysteriously dies, his heir apparent Sir Tenchi Baskerville becomes the new lord of Baskerville Hall-and an ancient family curse looms it's head. Enter the great detective Washu Holmes and her assistant Dr. Ryoko Watson!
1. Chapter 1

The characters of this story belong to the people at Pioneer Entertainment, and the plot line belongs to the heirs and estate of the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I'm not making any money, so please don't sue me. Find someone who's got loads of money and sue them instead.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen," said Washu as she stepped out onto the stage, "thank you all for coming to Washu Mystery Theater. Tonight I present to you a tale of the greatest detective of all time, Miss Washu Holmes-,"_

_"Figures," said a cyan-haired woman in the audience-Washu's own daughter, Ryoko Habuki. "She's casting herself in the lead role."_

_"-and her assistant," the diminuative redhead continued, ignoring the remark, "the cigar-chomping, booze-swilling, man-eating Doctor Ryoko Watson!"_

_"Ryoko, a doctor?" giggled Ayeka. "That I find hard to believe-although the other stuff fits her perfectly."_

_"Hey, I don't smoke cigars!" Ryoko shouted._

_"Yeah, but it's not hard you doing so, and it fits in the time of this story," Washu continued. "Now, on with the story!" _

Tenchi-Muyo! Hound of the Baskervilles

_Starring:_

_Tenchi Masaki as Sir Tenchi Baskeville_

_Washu Hakubi as Washu Holmes_

_Ryoko Hakubi as Dr. Ryoko Watson_

_Ayeka Jurai as Dr. Ayeka Mortimor_

_Sasami Jurai as Sasami Mortimer_

_Kagato as Kagato Stapleton_

_Misao Amono as Misao Stapleton_

_Noboyuki Masaki as Noboyuki Barrymore_

_Rea Masaki as Rea Barrymore_

_Mihoshi Kiramitsu as Inspector Mihoshi Lestrade_

_Kiyone Makabi as Inspector Kiyone Gregson_

_Tennyo Masaki as Tennyo Lyons_

_Lady Seto Kamiki as Lady Seto Hudson_

_Z as Z Seldon_

Chapter One: From the Journal of Dr. Ryoko Watson

Washu Holmes, as was her want, was a late sleeper, unless she had been spending her time involved in a case that kept her up well past the dawn. I would have slept late in the morning too, except that I had just received an advance for my latest submission to The Strand-the full account of how, with the help of Scotland Yard's only two female detectives Mihoshi Lestrade and Kiyone Gregson we had busted up the Pink-Headed-League-and managed to triple it betting on the horse races that morning. I had just returned to our apartment at 221b Hakubi Street, when I saw her, in her Persian robe, sitting on the couch and studying a walking stick.

"Oh, Ryoko!" Washu looked up and saw me come in. "Off gambling away what those trashy magazines pay you for accounts of me, hmm?"

"As a matter of fact," I retorted, "I tripled what The Strand paid me for the Pink Headed League."

"Oh yes-that trivial matter, involving the pawn broker and his assistant who worked for half pay, hmm?"

"Yes," I sighed. Chronicling Washu's cases has been both a blessing and a curse for me. True, it allowed me to give up the practice of medicine-which my mother and aunts pushed me into, being so big for women's suffrage they wanted a female doctor in the family-and devote myself to my real passions-gambling and drinking('Boy, do you fit that description, Ryoko!' giggled Ayeka) ('Quiet, princess, and let Washu continue!') Yet, she had a tendency to act as if what I did was beneath her notice, and make me feel small in lots of other ways. And use me every now and then for one of her insane experiments. I then looked at the stick she had with her. "What's that you've got with you?"

"Oh this?" said Washu. "It was left with the landlady this morning. She said a client had come to see me, and knowing I was asleep, she requested that person to return later in the day. This stick was left behind." She then smiled as she handed the stick to me. "You know my methods. Apply them. What can you tell about the person who owns it?"

I took the stick in hand, and examined it closely. It was a rather plain walking stick, save for a polished brass headknob, and a silver plaque with the inscription, _To Dr. A Mortimer, from the staff of C.C.H., for distinguished service and assistance. _There was little wear, other than what looked like bite and claw marks from a small animal.

"I can guess," I said, "that C.C.H., stands for something Hunt, and it must be a gift to the Dr. Mortimer for some service he had done for one of it's members."

Even as I spoke, I could tell I was wrong, from the glint in Washu's eyes. "Not even close, my dear Ryoko!" she cried. "The doctor who owns this stick is female like you, young, and has purple hair. She keeps a cat and is either unambitious or felt obligations that overrode any personal ambition."

"How did you tell all that, just from this stick!" I asked.

"Simple. For one, The most obvious meaning of C.C.H. is Charing Cross Hospital of London. Sticks like these are mainly given as parting gifts, either to a doctor who has retired, or has left for another position. The claw and toothmarks here are clearly those of a cat, or catlike animal. Since the stick shows very little sign of wear, that would mean the owner is young and has little need for one. Only a doctor with little ambition, or felt obligation bigger than personal ambition, would leave as prestigious a hospital as Charing Cross-and since no female doctor yet has reached retirement age here in England, it can only mean that she is young, like you."

"Oh." It all seemed rather simple, once Washu pointed it out. Then something occurred to me. "How do you know the doctor's female? And the purple hair?"

An evil grin came over Washu's face. "Elementary, my dear Ryoko! I'm a genius!"

Suddenly a tiny doll-puppet of Washu appeared on her right shoulder. "YES WASHU! YOU ARE A GENIUS!"

Another doll appeared on Washu's left. "THE GREATEST DETECTIVE IN ALL THE BRITISH EMPIRE!"

I groaned. Why couldn't Washu have taken up violin playing, or fencing, boxing, or snorting cocaine? Why did her hobby have to be ventriloquism?

Finally she stopped cackling. "If you want an explanation, Lady Seto told me the client was a female doctor. And while you were examining the stick, I looked out the window and saw a purple-haired woman carrying a black doctor's bag step up to the door of this building. And since female doctors are not so common in this modern year of 1889, it could only mean that woman was the client Lady Seto told me about."

There was a knock on the door. "Miss Holmes?" Lady Seto Hudson's voice spoke. "Miss Holmes, the lady I told you about has returned."

"Come in," said Washu.

In walked our Landlady, Lady Seto Hudson. With her, holding the black bag of the medical profession, was a slim, purple haired woman in her late twenties. She turned in my direction. "YOU!"

Suddenly I recognized her. My old classmate from medical school, Ayeka Mortimer.

Okay what do you readers think of the casting here. Please read and review, because otherwise, I won't update.

And in case you are wondering, yes, I did steal the idea for this story from Galxy1001D's rewritings of _Dracula _and _Frankenstein _with the Tenchi cast_. _If you are reading this, Galaxy1001ID, and you are offended, say so and I will drop the story.


	2. Chapter 2

Tenchi Muyo characters are the property of Pioneer Entertainment. The plot for this story belongs to the estate and heirs of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Don't sue me, because I have no money-sue someone who's got loads of it.

_To those of you who read the previous chapter, I've corrected some spelling and grammar errors,and changed the casting a little. And I also realized the I should have Kiyone and Mihoshi in heres, since at least Lestrade does show up in the original Hound of the Baskervilles. _

Chapter two: The Legend of the Hound

"So, the two of you were roommates at Cambridge Medical School, I take it?"

The look on Ayeka Mortimer's face at Washu's remark was just priceless! Sure, sometimes I'd get annoyed whenever Washu did it to me, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy seeing other people stumped by it. "How-how did you know that?"

"Simple." Washu indicated Ayeka's left hand. "You wear the ring of a Cambridge alumni, like Ryoko; and the year on it included the first female graduates Ryoko told me that there was only one other female student in her class whom she was roomed with and did not particarlly get along with. Seeing the reaction you had on seeing each other, obviously means it was you."

"Well yes, I can see that now. At least those deductions Ryoko describes you doing aren't literary license."

"So you read Ryoko's fanciful publications in The Strand, do you?"

"No, my sister Sasami does. In fact, she's the one who suggested I come to you."

Washu picked up her pipe. "You don't mind if I smoke, do you?" Ayeka shook her head, and Washu filled up her pipe, then lit it. "Tell me then, why you need my services."

"Well, perhaps you may have heard of the death of Sir Yosho Baskerville of Baskerville Hall on the Dartmoor moor?"

Washu stirred. "Yes, I did read something about that. The newspaper said he died of a heart attack that night, being out alone on the moor."

"Yes. Sir Yosho did have a rather weak heart; a family trait that only I, and Dr. Philip Larson, his previous physician, knew about. And here's something that the newspapers did not say: Both his clothes and his body, showed signs that he had been initially mauled by a dog."

"Initially, you say?" Washu asked. Ayeka nodded. "Certainly a dog attacking could trigger a heart attack, but surely the beast would have continued the mauling after the victim died-unless it had been called off by a trainer."

"Yes, exactly. That's why I believe It wasn't simply a heart attack Sir Yosho had been murdered! By someone who knew both of his condition-and of the family curse."

One of Washu's eyebrows arched up "Family curse? That's hardly something you'd need a detective to investigate-more like a folklorist!"

"Please, let me explain," Ayeka held up that dainty hand of her-which, I must admit, made her one of the best surgery students of our class. She went on to tell about how about 250 years ago, Baskerville Hall had been occupied by a Sir Hugo Baskerville-a most wicked man, it seemed, who inflicted cruel depravities on the common folk of the region-including a young farrier's daughter whom he'd kidnapped and held in his manor. One night, she escaped and ran out onto the moor. He saw her flee, and set dogs after her. Following the girl on horseback, he and his companions found her near one of the bogs-from which out leaped a monstrous black hound, with fiery red eyes, and flames leaping from the mouth. The creature set upon Sir Hugo , knocking him off his black mare, then dragged him into the bog-and likely, to Hell.

"And that's the legend," said Ayeka. I already had a notepad and pen was writing it all down; it was a fascinating piece of folklore. With a little tweaking it might even make a good story all by itself; I had been looking into writing other stuff besides accounts of my adventures with Washu.

"And you believe this story?" Washu asked.

"Sir Yosho did. And that belief, I think, is what triggered his heart attack." She downcast her eyes in sadness. "I owe Sir Yosho so much. My parents were gardeners at Baskerville Hall; they were killed in a train accident when I was 13 and Sasami was an infant. Sir Yosho took us in and paid for my education and put me through medical school. I believe he has been murdered, and I will do whatever it takes to avenge his death!" Now Ayeka's face went red, in one of those mood swings she was so famous for back in med school.

"Does Sir Yosho have any heirs, if I may ask," Washu said, in her usual, calm self. "And additional beneficiaries?"

"Yes, certainly. He had three children, two sons and a daughter, all of whom died before him. The eldest, Charles Baskerville, had gone to America and enlisted in the Confederate Army when their civil war came. After rising to the rank of captain, he was killed at Gettysburg. His commanding officer, a distant friend of Sir Yosho's, arranged for the body to be returned to England where it is buried in the family cemetery.

"Of his second son Harald, the less said the better. He was a bad sort, very much like the late Sir Hugo. Finally, when he killed a man in a drunken brawl and fled the country, Sir Yosho formally disowned him.

"And then there was his daughter Achika. She had gone to a rather prominent girls' school in Boston, where she later met and married her future husband. With one brother dead and the other disowned, she persuaded him to take the Baskerville family name. A year later, their son Tenchi Baskerville was born. Although they remained in America, Tenchi was frequently sent to England to visit his grandfather, and Sir Yosho made him his heir.

"In addition to Sir Tenchi inheriting Baskerville Hall, Sir Yosho bequeathed large sums of money to various people. To me and my sister Sasami he left 80,000 pounds. To the butler Noboyuki Barrymore ('What?' screamed Noboyuki. 'I just play a butler?)('Yes, but it's a far bigger role than you played in the OVA's, Tench Universe, and the manga series,' answered Washu) ('And besides,' answered Katsuhito, 'I'm dead in this story, and I'm not complaining.') and his wife Rea, he left 12,000 pounds. To his three stable hands Alan, Barry, and Cohen 5,000 pounds each. There were others to whom he left money, but we were his primary beneficiaries."

"I see," said Washu. "This Sir Yosho seems to have been quite the generous man."

"Indeed he was. We all grieved with him several years ago, when word came to Dartmoor of the tragic death of his daughter fifteen years ago. Some years afterwards, just when Sir Tenchi had started his classes at Harvard University, Achika's husband also died.

"And Sir Tenchi-has he taken his place as Lord of Baskerville Hall?"

"No-in fact, the reason I am in London now is to take Sir Tenchi home. He arrived in England last night, and as I prepared to come here, Sasami suggested I come to you first."

"Hmmm," Washu murmured. "If nothing else, I am intrigued. Will you permit Dr Ryoko Watson and me to accompany you to meet young sir Tenchi?"

"You will be most welcome," Ayeka replied, then glared at me. "But why does _SHE_ have to come along."

"Well, Miss Ryoko does have to pay her share of the rent," replied Washu, "and publishing those lurid and tawdry accounts of our 'adventures,' as she calls them, is how Ryoko makes her living."

"Lurid? Tawdry?" I snarled.

"Please. You make me out to be only four feet tall when I'm four foot seven-,"

"Only if you count your big hair."

"-you make it sound like I have complete contempt for Scotland Yard when I think they're quite good at what they do-just not as good as me. And most of them are a bunch of male chauvinist pigs. And you always show me in that deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, when you know I only wear that when we're out in the country-,"

"Hey, I just write the stories, I don't illustrate them! And besides-"

"You say I use the mantle over the fireplace for target practice. Do you think Lady Seto would allow that!"

"Okay, so I used a little literary lisence there-"

"And you make it seem like I'm some sort of man-hater or imply that I'm a Sapphist. I like men just fine. I simply don't trust them."

"Hey, I never said you were a Sapphist!"

"I didn't say you said it." Now Washu was giving that familiar cackle. "I just said you implied it."

*****

We set out for the Masaki hotel, where Ayeka said Sir Tenchi was staying. Despite the way she was commonly portrayed in _The Strand, _when in London or any other city Washu dressed like a typical Englishwoman. I did too, but there was one small exception-we both had revolvers hidden under our shoulders.

We entered the hotel and came up to the third floor. Outside of one room, was a young man, of average height and build, with longish hair pulled back in short ponytail. He looked at us, and blinked. "Lady Ayeka?"

"Sir Tenchi?" Ayeka answered. "Oh, it's been so long!" Then collecting herself in that prim and proper way of hers, she introduced us. "This is Miss Washu Holmes," and the she spoke through clenched teeth, "my old classmate, Dr. Ryoko Watson."

"The famous detective?" Tenchi asked. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about him, just drew my attention. Maybe it was that gentle smile of his-or maybe it was his open shirt, showing a slim but rather taught body. "I've heard about you, from those stories Miss Watson writes."

"Yes, those sordid tales do circulate outside of England now, don't they?" I held my tongue; no point in arguing with Washu in front of this cutie here.

"The reason I brought them along," Ayeka said, "Is that I believe, Sir Tenchi, that your grandfather Sir Yosho, was murdered. And that your own life is in danger as well!"

"Then you know-about the note?" Seeing our blank faces, Sir Tenchi went on, "This morning, I found a note, pushed underneath the door to my room." We went inside the hotel room. Sir Tenchi took a sheet of paper, with words obviously clipped out of a newspaper glued onto it, to Washu.

"'If you value your life,'" my roommate read, "'you will not show your face on the moor, and leave our island.'" Washu then peer closer, then took out her magnifying glass. "Aha!" she giggled. She looked around and saw a copy of the London Times. She ran over and opened up the newspaper. "I thought I read this article in the Times last night."

The first article was one concerning a Parliament discussion on the issue of free trade. "If you think," it read, "the tariff will protect the value of your craft, you will find in the long term wealth will leave our island."

Sir Tenchi scratched his cute head. "What does that have to do with the note here?"

Washu pointed to the words 'If you,' and 'leave our island.' "See how they are cut on the same strip of paper. And how the typeset matches the Times? The other words must have been cut from different articles. But the point is, the letter had to have been made last night at the very least. And whoever made it has to be here in London, otherwise he or she couldn't get it here in time for morning."

"That's not the only thing that's strange," said Sir Tenchi. We looked at him. "Just as I arrived in London last night, I bought a new pair of boot-only to find this morning one of them was missing."

"Only one?" Washu asked.

Sir Tenchi nodded. "I looked everywhere, and even asked the hotel maids, but couldn't even find a trace of it. I never even got to wear them!"

"That's strange." Washu rubbed her chin. "A pair of boots being stolen wouldn't appear unusual but why would a thief take only one-unless it was a thief with a wooden leg-"

Suddenly a window shattered, as if it had been shot through-but there was no sound of a gun being fired. Something however, buzzed Sir Tenchi's neck. He touched it-and blood covered his fingers.

"Get down!" Washu roared. Tenchi and Ayeka did. Washu and I however, backed up on either side of the broken window-and drew our revolvers.

Peering out the window we saw a man in a top hat a black cloak on top of the building across from us running from our view. A few seconds later we saw him down on the street-and disappear from sight.

Washu looked at the wound on Tenchi's neck. "You're lucky," she said. "That bullet just grazed you. Had you been standing a couple of inches to your right, it would have gone through your throat."

"But I didn't hear anything," I said, then looked were I saw a bullet embedded in the hotel wall. "How could he have fired that shot."

"Air rifle," answered Washu. "Most likely of the type made to look like a cane. Too fragile and takes too long to load to make a good military weapon or even for self defense. But for an assassin, it makes a dandy tool."

"Then you'll come with us?" asked Ayeka. "You'll watch over Sir Tenchi, and find out whoever is trying to kill him?"

Washu closed her eyes. "I'm afraid as of the moment, I'm busy with a blackmail case. But I'll send Dr. Ryoko Watson here, to watch over young Mr. Baskerville, and to report back and keep me up to date."

I couldn't believe what I just heard. Washu was trusting me, to act on my own? I smiled. I'd get to spend several weeks alone, with this young cutie!

"How can you handle two cases at once?" Tenchi asked.

"Simple," and I knew what was coming next. "I'M THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE!"

Washu's first puppet-doll popped up on her left shoulder. "YES YOU ARE WASHU!"

"THE GREATEST DETECTIVE WHO EVER LIVED!" cried her other puppet.

"I see_ that's _not something you made up after all," muttered Ayeka. "Tell me, does it annoy you, or are you used to it?"

"I'm used to it," I replied, "but it still annoys me."

****

Okay, how did you readers like that? Next chapter, Ryoko goes Baskerville Hall. You'll learn of the origins of her emnity with Ayeka, and meet the animal that's been chewing on Ayeka's stick-and it's not a cat!


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own any of these these characters or the plotline for this story. Hope that makes whoever thought of the disclaimer rule happy.

Chapter III: Baskerville Hall

The train ride from London to Dartmoor Village was rather uneventful-no one tried to shoot Sir Tenchi or or steal any of our luggage. It was an overnight journey; and Sir Tenchi, Ayeka, and I had the first-class car to ourselves. I got into a poker game with some of the men on our train the previous night and lost most of the money I made at the horse races, and that put me in a sour mood.

"Ha ha ha ha ha. So you're still gambling, are you Ryoko?" Ayeka giggled in that annoying way I remembered from medical school. "No wonder you need to live with Ms. Holmes then, if you keep losing all the money the _Strand_ pays you."

I simply took out the cigar I was smoking and blew smoke in Ayeka's face. "I didn't lose all the money, just a lot of it," I snarled. I was glad there were no other passengers in the car with us; the last thing I needed was people staring at me for smoking a cigar. . Or for wearing a short skirt with bloomers like me and Washu do whenever we travel. I don't know so many people think women wearing pants is immodest; I never saw any whores wear them. I never liked conforming to what's considered proper behavior for a lady anyway, and since ever I lived with Washu I gave it up completely.

"I don't know why Ms. Holmes trusts you to watch Sir Tenchi." She turned to him was sitting between us. "If she's anything like the Ryoko I remember from medical school, she'll just eat your food and drink the manor's wine cellar dry! She'd smoke all your grandfather's Cuban cigars too, but Sir Yosho left those to Noboyuki!"

"I like Indian cigars better anyway, princess," I shot back, and grinned seeing her get red at my old nickname for her. When we first met I thought she was a wealthy man's daughter, from the prim and proper way she acted and the way she always seemed to have money. Even though I later learned she was a gardener's daughter, I still didn't like the snooty attitude of hers, or for flaunting that she was at the top of the class. I _didn't _have a wealthy patron paying my way; I had to wash the dining hall dishes and clean the dormitories and the labs to pay my tuition. Given how little time I had for study then is it any wonder that I did only a little above average?

"Of course, you'd have had more time to study if you didn't spend so much drinking and gambling, like you still do!" Now that really got to me. Okay, maybe I did spend a lot of time doing those things but hey, I needed a life, didn't I?

"Listen Ayeka," I finally said, "think about me whatever you want. But I take matters like this seriously." Then I cradled Tenchi's face in my hand. "Especially when I have a charge as cute as this one." He was squirming underneath me. I may not be a master of deduction like Washu, but at least I can tell when a young man has little experience with women. Which suited me just fine; men of that sort are like putty in my hands.

Ayeka was still glaring at me. "Ryoko, you are the most shameless woman I've ever known!"

My mood got MUCH better. "Thank you."

"And do you really think Sir Tenchi is attracted to you, given that cigars makes your mouth taste like an ash tray?"

"And how many ash trays have you been kissing, that you know from experience, mm?"

"Girls, please, please," Tenchi said. "let's not cause a scene; I don't want to get thrown off the train!"

Suddenly the conductor came into our car. "Sir, madams, the train will be stopping at Dartmoor Village in one minute."

As the train stopped at the station. Sir Tenchi, Ayeka and I got our luggage and walked out to the station platform. Waiting outside were three nattily dressed youths with a carriage waiting for us.

"Oh Lady Ayeka!" said the tallest, a lanky redhead. "And this must be the new master, Sir Tenchi. Allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm Alan."

"I'm Barry," said another, a rather chubby fellow with short red-brown hair.

"And I'm Cohen," said the third, a black hair lad with glasses who could have been a racehorse jockey.

Then they all said in unison, "WE'RE YOUR STABLEHANDS AND COACHMEN!"

Cohen looked at me. "And who might you be miss?"

"I'm Dr. Ryoko Watson," I answered.

All three of them stared at me. "Are you THAT Dr. Ryoko Watson?" Alan asked.

"The one who writes down the adventures of the great detective, Miss Washu Holmes?" added Barry.

"Like the _Pink-Headed League_? _The Burgundy Spinal_? And the _12 Josephines?_" put in Cohen.

"NOT THAT DR. RYOKO WATSON?" they all said, again in unison.

"Yep, that's me," I answered.

"We've all got copies of the _Strand, _with your stories back home." said Allen. "My favorite is the _Man with the Crossed Eyes_."

"Mines the _Beige Elms!_" put in Barry.

"I like the very first-_A Study in Fuchsia!_" finished Cohen_._

"WILL YOU AUTOGRAPH THEM FOR US, MISS RYOKO?" they all cried-again, in unison.

"Why, certainly," I said, just before I stepped in the coach along with Tenchi and Ayeka. It's not ofton I get noticed, as the one who writes the stories; feeling they're adoration was a pleasant experience.

As I sat down across from Ayeka she was giving that smug grin of hers. "I wonder what they would think if they knew you spent the days just after graduation working at a soldiers' brothel in Calcutta?"

"Hey, I was just treating the whores there for syphilis and other venereal diseases!" I yelled. "I wasn't plying that trade myself!" At least, I wasn't getting paid for any soldiers I 'entertained,' that was free. And I was always careful to make sure _I_ didn't contract anything. "You know how hard it is for a woman to make it in the medical field?"

"Oh really. I had little trouble in that regard."

I held my tongue. I bet Sir Yosho had used his influence to get Ayeka that internship at Charring Cross, just as he'd previously helped her through medical school. But having had to deal with much of the medical establishment's attitude towards women, I couldn't fault Ayeka for using what advantages she had. Besides, Ayeka WAS a good doctor-she graduated 3rd in our class and I knew she deserved that internship. Her personality was just so infuriating!

As the carriage continued left the village and went out into the moor, Ayeka pointed out various parts of locality. "That's the old Stone-Age village," she said, pointing to a collection of centuries old wattle and daub huts. "Gypsies often camp around there-Sir Yosho allowed them, provided that they didn't cause any trouble, which they don't-for the most part they keep to themselves. I even sometimes performed medical services for them.

"Remember Dr. Philip Larson? After he died, I left Charring Cross and took over his practice-Sasami and I live at his old place now; she's been staying at Baskerville Hall while I was away. And over there, that's where Kagato Stapleton lives. He's a former school teacher that moved here six years ago from Norfolk. He spends much of his time in the Stone age Village-fancies himself sort of an amateur archaeologist, among other things. He also goes around with a net, collecting butterflies. He live with his daughter Misao, she's my sister Sasami's best friend."

As I took all this in I remembered Washu's words to me just before I left. '_Remember, Ryoko,' _she said, '_I'm counting on you to report back to me everything you see. No matter how small the details. Keep your revolver handy and keep it loaded. And whatever else, don't let Sir Tenchi out of your sight!'_

I looked At Sir Tenchi's handsome face; that last instruction wouldn't be hard to follow.

The carriage turned off the road and went uphill. "Here we are Sir Tenchi!" Alan called from the driver's seat. "Baskerville Hall!"

Tenchi, Ayeka, and I got out and looked at the ancestral home of the Baskervilles. I was impressed-a four story red-brick mansion that looked like it had been built in the fifteenth century. At the main doorway was a man who looked like he was about forty to fifty, rather well built, with glasses and a pencil-thin mustache. Right next to him was a rather young woman with short hair and who also wore glasses.

"Sir Tenchi, I trust that you do remember Noboyuki Barrymore the butler from your childhood visits here?" Tenchi nodded. "This is Rea, whom he married two years ago."

"Yes, I remember." Tenchi went up, and shook the butler's hand. "Barrymore, Rea, I'd like to introduce Dr. Ryoko Watson, who'll be staying with us for a while."

"Pleased to meet you," said the butler Noboyugi. He turned to me and gave a grin I recognized all too easily. "So you're a lady doctor, huh? I've been feeling a little poorly; how about taking that black bag of yours and giving me an examination?"

"Noboyuki!" Rea slapped her husband on the face. Rea sighed and looked at me. "You'll have to forgive my husband; he's a terrible flirt. Although flirt is all he does, RIGHT, Noboyugi?"

"Uh, er, yeah."

"Don't worry," I said. I opened my jacket and showed the shoulder holster containing my revolver. "I carry this."

All of a sudden, two young girls who looked about ten years old came walking up. One had long long black hair down her back. The other, who ran up to Ayeka, had long teal-colored hair done up in impossibly long pigtails and a freckled face. "Ayeka!" she cried as she embraced my old classmate.

"Sasami." The two pulled away. "Sir Tenchi, this is my little sister Sasami; she was barely more than a toddler the last time you were here."

"Yes I remember." Tenchi tousled Sasami's hair. "You sure have grown, haven't you?" He turned to the other girl. "And you must be Misao Stapleton."

"Yes, Sir Tenchi," the little girl said shyly.

A small furry animal, that at first I thought was a cat, came running up to us. "Mew mew!" it cried. Then I noticed that, although it had the head, whiskers, and forelegs of a cat, it's ears, body, hind legs and tail were those of a rabbit.

"What is that thing?" I asked curious. I'd never seen anything like it; had it been dead I'd have assumed it to be a fake, used for carnival sideshows. I'd heard tales of such creatures in the back country of England, but dismissed them as folktales.

"Well," said Noboyuki, "There's a certain local legend here, that every once in a while, a male rabbit will impregnate a female cat, and well, here's the result."

"That's ridiculous," I said. "Cats are more likely to eat rabbits than fornicate with them."

"I thought so too, until Sasami found this one caught in a poacher's trap," said Ayeka. "She nursed it back to health, and although it would have been a great scientific find, Sasami became so attached to it, I decided to let her keep it as a pet."

The little animal ran up to me and said. "Mew! Mew!"

Sasami giggled. "Ryo-Ohki likes you, lady!"

"Ryo-Ohki, huh? So that's it's name?"

"Yep, that's what I named her!" I picked up the creature, and found that indeed, it was female-although I suspect like most cross breedings between species, it was likely sterile, if it truly was a hybrid and not rare and exotics species by itself.

I then looked at the stick that Ayeka had left with us yesterday morning and was now carrying. This Ryo-Ohki, it seemed, had to be the animal that was making those claw and teeth marks!

"Oh by the way lady, what's your name?" Sasami asked.

"Oh. I'm Doctor Ryoko Watson."

"Oh _you're_ here?" both little girls said, then looked around. "But where's Miss Washu Holmes?"

"She's kind off occupied, so she sent me to watch over things for now."

"Oh! I've read all your stories!" Sasami cried.

"So have I," said Misao. "Tell me, did Miss Washu really tell that pawn broker's assistant was going to rob the Bank of England simply by looking at his knees?"

"Yes she did," I replied, though I was completely baffled until Washu explained it to me.

"And was the Burgundy Spinal really hidden inside the stomach of a Christmas goose?" asked Sasami.

"You betcha," I replied. "I've got more stuff too-including some that didn't get published." They both looked at me wide eyed, eager to hear about it.

"I'm sure that's all very interesting," said Ayeka, "but Sasami, we have to go. Say goodbye to Miss Watson, why don't you?"

Sasami nodded. "Goodbye, Dr. Ryoko! Hope to catch up with you tomorrow!"

Ayeka and Sasami walked out to where the coach was waiting to take them home. "aren't you going with them?" I asked the little girl Misao.

"Oh, ah no; my father's in the den waiting with the others."

"What others?" Tenchi asked Noboyuki.

"Oh, well, since you're now going to be the lord and manor of this estate, I thought it best that you got to know it's closest neighbors and prominent locals."

"Very well," Tenchi said, and I followed him and Noboyugi to a rather large sized den room filled with several men.

"Here is John Fillmore, the mayor of Dartmoor," Noboyugi pointed a short, middle aged man with thick white mutton chop sideburns. "And here's the local schoolteacher, Edward-" Tenchi went and shook hands with the various men; I mostly got ignored. Which I didn't particularly mind in this case, it gave me a good point to observe them, and learn what I could from their conversations.

Two of them especially struck me as odd. The first was this crotchety old man named Frankland who, it seemed, had nothing better to do with his time than to find various reasons to sue people. The second was the object of his current lawsuit, Kagato Stapleton, the father of that little girl I had just met.

"And I still say that your lawsuit has no sound basis," said Kagato to Frankland. He was a tall, muscular man who wore his hair-surprisingly white, although he seemed only a few years older than Tenchi-in a long ponytail, and even wore two side locks almost like a Hasidic Jew's, "Those villages have been uninhabited for over three millinea, and they're on nobody's property. I have every right to search them, and take whatever might be of scientific value."

"Nevertheless, the law still states that you must get the deceaseds' families permission, before you handle their corpses or go through their personal belongings," Frankland said firmly. "I see no provision for an exception for what you describe, therefor my lawsuit stands."

The room then broke into a row, with men taking sides. Some took Kagato's side, others, strangely supported Frankland. At this point the mayor and Noboyugi took Tenchi aside and said, "I'm afraid, young sir, that there is another matter concerning this place. About a week ago, a convict, by the name of Clay Selden, has escaped from a nearby prison, and has been spotted on the moor. We've contacted Scotland Yard but apparently they think it a small matter, because they sent two women to try to apprehend them!"

I bristled at hearing the mayor's sexist words, yet I knew in a way the mayor's attitude was justified, at least concerning one of them. Mihoshi Lestrade was a clumsy and clueless ditz who only got to be the first female Inspector because her grandfather was the chief of Scotland Yard. Her partner, Kiyone Gregson('Hey! We get to be in the story after all!' cried Mihoshi) ('Yes,' answered Washu. 'Now quit interrupting and let me get on with the story.') both Washu and I held some regard for-she was the first _competent_ female Inspector in the Yard.

The night went on. The men finally left, and Tenchi decided to call it a night. I wrote down the day's events, which I planned to take to the telegraph office and wire to Washu, then decided to take a bath.

I had just stepped into the tub, when I thought I herd a low giggle. Looking to my right, I saw what looked like an eyeball staring from a hole in the wall.

Grabbing my revolver, I stepped out of the tub-and pointed directly at the eyeball. "All right you peeping tom," I snarled. "Tell me who you are, and I won't shoot."

Suddenly, the wall slid open-a sliding door had been built in, very well concealed-and out stepped Noboyugi. Looking behind him, I could see that the sliding door lead to a hallway closet. "You bathe with that thing?" he said shaking.

"Yes, and I sleep with it too." I pointed the gun down. "Listen, I won't tell your wife about this, but if you do it again," and this time I pointed the gun at his crotch, "I'll make sure there won't be any more future Barrymores.

End of chapter 3

Okay, I decided I'd put Mihoshi and Kiyone in after all. And I also included the very same Allen, Barry, and Cohen from Tenchi Muyo!GXP; I figured they'd make great comedy relief. And yes, Misou Stapleton is the Misou Amoano from Magical Girl Pretty Sammy.

Every one of the story titles mentioned here is a play on the title of an original story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Try to figure out which ones!

Next chapter, Ryoko explores both the manor and the moor, acting as Sir Tenchi's bodyguard. Little does she know, however, that she is being watched-and more is going on than she suspects.


	4. Chapter 4

The characters From Tenchi Muyo! And the plot from Hound of the Baskervilles belong to separate groups of people who've got way more money than me, so if your reading this, I have to tell you suing me would be a waste of time and your money.

Chapter Four: A Day and Night on the Moor

I woke up late that morning-partly out of habit, partly out of the fact I was up late writing down the details of what I learned last night to wire to Washu. I walked down, and saw Tenchi at the breakfast table; Ayeka Mortimer, and little Sasami were there with him.

"Well, I see that your sleep habits haven't changed since medical school, Ryoko ," Ayeka said snidely.

"Hey, I was up all night, writing down every thing I saw," I retorted.

"Yes Ayeka, said Sasami. "Miss Washu needs to hear every single detail if she's going to find who killed Sir Yosho. Like in _the Silver-Faced Stallion, _where Washu needed to need to examine the ground where that horse trainer was killed, and see everything in the man's pockets, before she was able to figure out what killed him. Isn't that right, Dr. Ryoko?"

"That's right. And I have know idea what Washu will use to draw the truth from, so I'll have to give even most seemingly insignificant stuff." Noboyuki had come in with my breakfast, a ham and bacon omelet that just smelled divine. As he placed it in front of me, I looked at the walls surrounding the dining hall. "Like those paintings." I then noticed something-an empty space next to a portrait of Sir Hugo Baskerville. "Looks like there should be a painting there next to Sir Hugo."

"Oh, there was," said Noboyuki. "A portrait of Sir Yosho's second son, Roger hung there."

The son that Sir Yosho had disowned. "And it was taken down after Sir Yosho disinherited him?"

Noboyuki shook his head. "No, Sir Yosho kept it there. He kept hoping one day that his son would come home, and they would reconcile. He even kept track of the boy; Roger had joined the French Foreign Legion. During their little escapade in Mexico, Sir Yosho received a telegram saying Roger had been captured by Mexican rebels and wasn't heard from since. This was before my time here mind you, but my predecessor told me how Sir Yosho wept with grief. Then, five years ago, the portrait just disappeared."

Luckily I had my journal handy; while I couldn't see how this might be important, my time with Washu has told me that often the most insignificant details can reveal the most promising clues. After writing it down, I said, "I'll have to go to the telegraph office in town and wire this to London."

"Oh, you can come with us, Ayeka and I will be riding into town to check the bank-apparently I own it now, along with this manor."

"Yes." Now Ayeka gave me a sly smile. "I'm sure we can pick out a nice horse for you to ride on."

"No way," I answered. I hate horses; the closest I ever want to get to one of those smelly, brainless, vicious beasts is in a carriage or cab with someone else doing the driving. Ayeka knew this too. One time in medical school, she dared me to ride through a hunting jump course with her. Wish I never accepted; I ended up with my face in the mud. Ayeka herself had gone through it perfectly; she loved those darn things and had been riding since she was eight.

"I can have the boys bring out the carriage for you," said Tenchi. "Or we can all simply walk, but I'd rather ride. It's been to long since I had a horse between my legs." So Sir Tenchi also liked riding horses too? Well, nobody's perfect.

"Hey, can Misao and I ride in the carriage with Dr. Ryoko? I want to hear some more about her adventures with Miss Washu!" Sasami asked her older sister.

"I suppose it will do no harm," Ayeka said, then glared at me. "But remember, knowing you I'm sure there's stuff the Strand's editors left out-stuff that Sasami and her friend should NOT be hearing about."

I was about to respond when those three coach boys came into house. "Sir Tenchi! Sir Tenchi!" Alan, the tall one said. "Sir Tenchi, we have something we need to ask."

"Sure, go right ahead," Tenchi replied.

"Um, well, we were wondering," began Alan.

Barry continued "You see, we owe some people some money, and-"

"-can the three of us have an advance on our salary?" finished Cohen.

"What?" Tenchi asked. "But my grand father left each of you 5,000 pounds! That's not enough to pay those you owe?"

"Well, it would have been," said Alan.

"But the night when we got it," continued Barry.

Cohen said, "-we had ourselves a party."

Now Ayeka went ballistic. "SIR YOSHO LEFT BETWEEN THE THREE OF YOU 15,000 POUNDS AND YOU BLOW IT ALL ON A PARTY!" I had to suppress a chuckle; Ayeka can be really funny when she's angry-as long as it's not at me. "YOU THREE SHOULD BE FLOGGED AND SENT OUT ON THE MOOR WITH NOTHING BUT THE STRIPES ON YOUR BACKS!"

"Calm down Ayeka," Tenchi said, then he looked at the three. "I'm going to the bank, after I've settled that I'll see what I can do about your debts. But the cost of paying them will come out of your wages. You got that?"

All three of them, looked shamefaced, simply nodded. "Very well." Tenchi got up. "Now get horses for me and Ayeka ready, and a carriage for Dr. Ryoko here. We'll be going to town soon.

****

The trip into town was quite uneventful, save for the way I saw Ayeka making eyes at Tenchi-and the way she shifted her legs in the side-saddle. She could act like the prim and proper Englishwoman, but I knew she was attracted to him.

"Dr. Ryoko?" Sasami's voice broke me out of my thoughts, she had that strange pet of hers Ryo-Ohki in her lap. "Dr Ryoko, what happened then?"

"Oh," I said. "Inspector Kiyone and I rushed to Washu's cries for help. There, we found Squire Cunningham and his son Seryio. They had Washu on the floor; had we not come when we did, they might have strangled her." I had told about Washu and my adventure in Reigate-a story I hadn't been able to publish yet.

"So they were the ones who had murdered their coachman?" Sasami's friend Misao asked. She had come to the manor a little after breakfast and wanted to come along-and hear more stories from me.

"Yes," I said. "She figured they were lying earlier when the supposed burglar that killed William had come when they were both up-something no smart burglar would do. Plus they said they saw William shot at point blank range-yet he had no powder burns on his body."

"Why haven't you published that story yet?" Sasami asked.

"Uh, there are some kinks in that one to be left out," I said. Namely that the fact that I had spent the night before Washu fingered them in the younger Cunningham's bedroom. Sure he turned out to be a violent, murdering sociopath, and he had a highly inflated opinion of himself, but hey, he was such a cutie!

We had come into the village and Tenchi stopped his horse beside the Bank. "Ayeka and I are going to be inside awhile," he said, then gave a side glance at Alan, who'd drove the carriage. "It''l take a little longer than I planned, given you and the others' money troubles."

I stepped down from the carriage; I could see the telegraph office was short walk away. "I better send in my report to Washu," I said. "How long are you going to take?"

"It'll likely be hours," Tenchi said. He helped Ayeka off of her horse, then looked back at Alan. "Go back to the manor and come back in three hours. Don't bother bringing the riding horses, we'll just go back in the carriage." Alan nodded, fastened the riding horses' bridles to the carriage, and drove off to the manor.

I walked over to the telegraph office and paid the clerk to wire my report to London. Now, it seemed, I had nothing else to do as Tenchi and Ayeka were inside the bank, going over Baskerville Hall's financial matters.

Sasami tugged at my jacket. "I know. I can show you around the moor here while we wait. Sir Yosho's body was found not far from here; you should see it."

I thought on that for a moment. I should have been watching over Tenchi, and I just HATED the thought of Ayeka being alone with him for a few hours. But I wasn't crazy about spending that time hearing them talk with a banker about the money matters of a centuries-old estate. And it couldn't hurt to gather the details about the area where Sir Yosho had died.

So I walked off with Sasami and Misao; little Ryo-Ohki following right behind us. Soon, we were away from the village, and in a broad field.

"Over there," Sasami said. "That's where they found Sir Yosho's body."

The grass where Sasami had pointed was slightly faded; and seemed roughly in the outline of a six-foot three man with broad shoulders. "I was with Ayeka when she found him that morning," Sasami said, her voice very mournful. "The look on his face-I never saw anyone who looked so SCARED. It was like he was really frightened to death."

I looked the spot over; I didn't see anything unusual-except for paw prints that were unmistakably a dog's. A very big dog too, from their size and the length of the stride.

I suddenly remembered something from a story Sasami had mentioned earlier. "Do you recall what Sir Yosho had in his pockets the night he died?"

"Well, I think he had an ivory handled pocketknife, and a few coins and his pocket watch," she answered. "Why. Are they important?"

Try as I could, I simply couldn't see what importance they'd have. Maybe Washu could have-I'd write it down in my next report to give to her. "I don't know."('Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!' Ayeka cackled 'Such modesty, from Ryoko!') I looked to the south, and noticed a rather worn and crumbling building. "What's that?" I asked.

"Oh that. It was an abbey dedicated to Saint Tsunami." Sasami and Misao both lowered their eyes and crossed themselves; I reckoned then they were both Catholics. "When Henry VIII broke from Rome, Sir Lionel Baskerville-he was lord of Baskerville Hall then-plundered it's treasure, then sent the priests and nuns away-naked with stripes on their backs." Sasami blinked I could see tears welling up in her eyes. "Even though he belonged to the Church of England, Sir Yosho always spoke of that with regret. I miss him; he was so good to me and Ayeka." I remembered this girl had lost her parents at a very young age; likely she saw the late Sir Yosho not as a lord but as a father figure.

Although I'm not normally the type to relate to children I placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry Sasami. Washu and I will find whoever caused Sir Yosho's death, and we'll make him pay for what he did."

Sasami's pet began sniffing the air. "Meow! Meow!" it cried, just like a cat. It hopped away, after whatever it smelled.

"Ryo-Ohki!" Sasami cried and ran after the cat-rabbit thing. I followed after her, with Misao close behind me.

After turning a corner, I saw the object Ryo-Ohki was after-and the steel-jawed trap that bundle full of carrots were bait for.

Quickly, I took out my revolver and fired. BLAM! The jaws of the trap snapped shut-just before Ryo-Ohki could grab one of the carrots.

Frightened, the creature ran towards Sasami and leaped into her arms. Sasami looked at me. Before she could say anything, I said, "I wasn't shooting at her; it was that trap over there."

"Indeed," a voice I heard last night said. I turned, and saw Kagato Stapleton walk out from behind the bush, his left hand clutching a walking stick. "That's some very impressive shooting, Miss Ryoko."

"That's _Doctor_ Ryoko," I answered back. Sure I wasn't practicing at the time, but I still had my license and felt the pride of being a doctor despite the medical establishments' barriers against women. "What are you doing, setting a trap here for poor little Sasami's pet?"

"Oh that," he said, then smiled at Sasami. "It wasn't your pet I was trying to trap my dear, simply another of it's kind. I figured if there's one, there very likely might be more. Since my daughter has told me about that creature's fondness for carrots, I simply set it up, hoping to catch one as a find for science."

"Did you have to use such a cruel trap?" said Sasami reproachfully.

"And if you need a dead specimen, why couldn't you use a gun?" I added.

"I'm sorry, but as you can see," Kagato's eyes turned to Ryo-Ohki, who was snarling and hissing like a cat, "animals for the most part don't like me. And for the other-." he stopped speaking but simply held up a hand-it was webbed. So was the other. "And Sasami, I'd advise you from now on to keep a close eye on your pet. It would be a shame, if something happened to it. The moor can be a very dangerous place."

As if in afterthought, Kagato looked at his daughter, who was wheezing. "Misao, have you been running. I told you before not to run."

"I'm sorry-huff huff-Father-huff huff."

Kagato returned his gaze to me. "As you can see, my daughter is somewhat fragile, _Dr. _Ryoko." He turned to go. "Come Misao, it's time we went home."

He walked off, with Misao quietly following him. "I don't like that man," I said.

"I don't either, even if he is Misao's father," Sasami said sadly. "He isn't mean, but he's just so cold to her. He's moved her around a lot, ever since Misao's mother died; and he even leaves her with me and Ayeka to go out on those expeditions of his; he just got back from one before you arrived." Sasami and I began walking back to the villiage; Alan would be returning soon with the carriage and horses.

*****

That night, after Ayeka and Sasami had gone to their cottage, I was writing down the day's events to wire to Washu tomorrow, when Tenchi came into the den. "Can you believe this Ryoko?" he said in bewilderment; he was holding up two boots-but not a matching pair. "This is the boot I lost in London-somehow, it's shown up here, in my closet. And now, this one's mate," he indicated with the other boot, "has disappeared!"

"That is strange," I said, then remembered something else. "Didn't you give Rea a bundle of old clothes to be donated to the church collection box? Maybe it got mixed up in them."

"No, I checked. It's not there." He glanced out the window. "What's that?"

I looked. Outside the window, I could see in the distance the abandoned abbey Sasami had showed me earlier that day-a light was shining from it. "Wha-could someone be there?"

"It looks like it." Tenchi dropped the boots and walked over to a nearby cabinet that held a number of hunting rifles. Picking up a Winchester and loading it with bullets, he headed to the door. "C'mon, Ryoko, I think we better look."

*****

We had walked to the abbey, following the light-and carefully made sure we avoided any of the moor bogs. Turning around the corner with the broken wall, we could see the lamp we viewed from the mansion. There were several blankets, and what looked like the remains of eaten food. "Someone's been living here," I said.

"Could it be that escaped convict-" we both heard a twig break behind us- Turning, we saw a rather tall, muscular looking young man with close cropped green hair, and the left side of his face horribly scarred. Iknew it could only be one person-the escaped convict Z Seldon.

We chased after him. It was a clear night, we could see fairly well, and we were both swift runners. Yet somehow the man managed to stay ahead of us. He had just gotten close to a grove of trees, when Sir Tenchi raised his rifle and fired. The shot missed, and the man disappeared.

Tenchi started to go after him, but I grabbed his arm. "No. Let him go; we don't know the moor well enough and-"

Suddenly Tenchi grabbed at his side. "My-my chest!" he cried. I looked at his face, and I knew I had to get him help immediately.

******

Ayeka stepped out of her bedroom, and removed the stethoscope from her ears; her cottage was closer to us than the manor. "Well, my diagnosis is the same as yours," she said. "Sir Tenchi has the same condition as his grandfather-he's missing a left coronary artery."

"But he should be all right, as long as he takes care of himself and doesn't exert too much?" I asked.

"Why are you asking me this?" Ayeka retorted. "Don't tell me you forgot everything you learned in medical school, Ryoko."

"I didn't. I just needed a second opinion, given how you think I'm such a bad doctor."

"I never said you were a bad doctor!" Ayeka roared. "Really Ryoko, you infuriate me! You were good at making diagnosis, you were a dab hand at surgery-you could have been great among our generation of female doctors. But instead, you gave it up to for a career in writing cheap stories about that eccentric roommate of yours."

"Hey, you should try making it in the medical field without some rich person backing you!" I shouted back. "After I got my license to practice the best I could get was treating whores for venereal disease in Calcutta and doing medical duty for a women's prison in London! Maybe if I had someone like Sir Yosho to help open doors for me instead of having to fight the sexist medical establishment on my own-"

"You shouldn't blame sexism for your own sloth and laziness, Ryoko!" Before she could go any further, young Sasami, dressed in her nightgown, ran into our room. "Sasami, you should be in bed."

"I know Ayeka. But your fighting with Dr. Ryoko woke me up. Then I looked out my window and-" Sasami led us to her room. We looked out the window and gasped.

Sasami's bedroom window showed a clear view of Baskerville Hall. And from the top window of what I knew to be the attic, a lantern was shining-just like the one in the abbey.

End of chapter 4

Okay, how well do you readers like that? Last time a whole lot of ready listed this as their favorite story or gave a story alert, but didn't leave any reviews. That better not happen again this time! I mean it!


	5. Chapter 5

To the people at Pioneer and the heirs to the greatest mystery writer of all time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I am only using the characters and plot here for entertainment purposes. You both have way more money than I ever will, so don't bother to sue me.

Chapter 5: Miss Washu shows herself

As much as I wanted to run over to the manor and find out who was shining that light in the window, Tenchi needed my attention. For the rest of the night, Ayeka and I watched over him, listening to his heart through our stethoscopes, making sure it's beat was steady.

As dawn approached, I grew sleepy. Ayeka had no patients the following day, save for an afternoon appointment to the Gypsy camp so she let me sleep on her sofa.

Later that morning, I awoke. Ayeka had Tenchi out of bed, and he seemed all right, if a bit tired. "Now remember, Sir Tenchi," she said, in the bedside tone all us doctors have to learn, "you must avoid undue excitement or stress. You barely missed having a dangerous heart attack, but only because you are young and in rather good health. You do have the same condition as your grandfather, and it will get worse as you get older. But if you take my advice, you should live to a ripe old age, in spite of it."

"Yeah, yeah, I got you." Tenchi nodded.

"And I second Ayeka's opinion," I put in.

"Did I ask for an opinion from you Ryoko?" Ayeka's gaze turned to me. "I must remind you Ryoko, I'm the doctor for this area and for the Baskerville family! You have no-"

"Hey, I was just backing you up! Last time I ever do that!" I yelled back.

"When do I need you to back me up? If I remember right, you barely passed through our class concerning cardiac conditions and treatment-and I'll bet it's because of 'favors' you did for Professor-"

"Hey, what are you saying? That I slept my way through med school?"

"Girls, girls," Tenchi was holding up his hands. "Please, could you just let me go home?"

"Very well," I said, and couldn't resist smirking at Ayeka. "_I'll_ walk you home."

"I am not leaving Sir Tenchi in your care, not in his state!" Ayeka screamed. "Especially since you'll likely be smoking those cigars around him, and that's the last thing he needs!"

"Hey, second hand smoke never hurt anyone. Besides, you've got to get some shuteye, or you won't be in any shape to check up on those gypsies later."

Ayeka frowned but nodded; whatever else you could say about her, Ayeka was a devoted doctor. "And of course, you'll be seeing about the light shining from the window?" she asked.

"What light?" Tenchi asked.

Putting our argument aside for the moment, Ayeka and I told Tenchi about how we saw a candle shining from on of the window of Baskerville Hall, just like the one he and I saw out on the moor. "But-the only ones in the manor when we went out were the Barrymores-Barry, Alan and Cohen have their rooms by the stables," Tenchi mused, then shook his head. "Never mind. I'm well enough now, and I'm going to see what that was about."

Tenchi and I had gone back to the manor; and to the room where Ayeka and I saw the candlelight shining in the window. We'd given word to Rea Barrymore, and soon, she, her husband, and the three stablehands were in the room with us.

Tenchi told of our encounter with the escaped convict. "And then, because it was so late, we spent the night at Dr. Ayeka's cottage instead of back here" Tenchi said, omitting the part about his heart condition, "and from there we saw a light in the window of this very room. Exactly like the one we had seen earlier, and assume that Selden had been shining, from the old cathedral.

Allen, Barry, and Cohen just looked puzzled. But from the way the butler and his wife started, I didn't need Washu's powers of observation to tell they were the culprits.

Neither did Sir Tenchi. "What were you doing!" he cried to Noboyuki. "Was it that murderer you were trying to contact? Why!"

"Please, sir," said Noboyuki, his voice surprisingly calm, "I only gave him food and clothes, nothing more."

"But even that still constitutes as aiding a fugitive!" Tenchi shouted. "Tell me, why?"

"I can't say," Noboyuki answered. "I can't."

"There are two Scotland Yard Detectives in the village looking for that very convict, and if you don't tell me, I'll turn you in to them."

"I can't-"

"No." Rea held her husband's hand and looked at Tenchi. "He-he came to us, the night he escaped. He was so wretched, so cold and hungry, and I had to help him because-because," and her voice was barely audible, "because he's my brother."

We all were silent. "Your-your brother?" I finally said.

Rea nodded. "My younger brother. I know what he did, and I knew we were breaking the law by helping him. But I just couldn't-" Her eyes clouded up, and she burst out sobbing on her husband's shoulder.

"We were making arrangements for him to leave the country," said Noboyuki. "They did horrid things to him in that asylum; even operated on his brain to the point were he has the mind of a child. Please sir, do with me what you want, but please, spare my wife. She only wanted to help her brother."

Sir Tenchi was silent for over a minute, then the color faded from his face-I think he was remembering what Ayeka and I said about avoiding stress. "Very well," he said in a low voice. "but if the police somehow learn of what you've been doing, I'll deny any knowledge of it. And once he's out of the country, you and Mrs.. Barrymore are to leave Baskerville Hall. And it's only because of the years of service you both gave my grandfather that I'm giving you that much!"

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Noboyuki said, then led a sobbing Rea out of the room. Allan Barry, and Cohen followed after them, supposedly to resume their work with the horses.

Tenchi walked over to a nearby chair and sighed. "Great, just great," he muttered. "Someone's trying to kill me, I find out I have Grandpa's heart condition, and now I'm party to helping a killer evade justice. I'm beginning to think there really is a curse on my family-and it's not just to do with the Hound."

I smiled at him. "Just remember," I said, "don't get into anything too stressful or exciting, and you should be fine. You're young, and otherwise quite healthy, so you shouldn't have any heart trouble, as long as you follow doctors orders. In fact," and I smiled coyly as I leaned close to him, "this doctor says it's all right to have a little excitement if you wish."

"Um, er, I've got to go look over some of Grandpa's financial records again," Tenchi stammered, then slipped out of my fingers and quickly left the room. "Great, just great," I murmured, then remembered I had that report to make to Washu.

After dropping my report at the telegraph office, I headed back towards the manor. Strange, it felt, to be alone, out in the countryside entirely by myself. It had been so long, and for the first time I was struck by how beautiful the countryside was-"

"Oh! Oh! Look Kiyone, it's doctor Ryoko!" I instantly recognized that voice-and groaned. Even as I did so, I turned to see Scotland Yard Inspectors Mihoshi Lestrade and Kiyone Gregson walking up towards me.

"Oh Ryoko, it's so good to see you!" Mihoshi squealed enthusiastically. She was this blonde airhead whose ditziness made me wonder what Scotland Yard was thinking when they let her join-unless it was some sort of twisted way of showing how unfit women were in law enforcement. That and the fact the director of the yard was her grandfather.

"So, is Miss Washu Holmes here to track after this Selden character too?" Kiyone muttered. She was a fit athletic type with a no nonsense personality I rather liked. We might have been closer friends, but in my first publication, of a case where Washu and I worked with her and Mihoshi, I mentioned that she arrested the wrong suspect and she kind of held it against me. "Wherever you go, she's usually not far behind."

"As a matter of fact," I said truthfully, "Washu's back in London. I'm just here visiting my good friend, Sir Tenchi Baskerville, the new lord of Baskerville Hall."

"Is that so?" Kiyone looked rather ambiguous.

"Ho, Doctor Ryoko!" I looked, and I saw that old man Frankland driving his carriage up the road. "Fancy seeing you out here on this fine day! And who are these two lovely ladies?"

I introduced him to Mihoshi and Kiyone. "So you're the two lady Inspectors the Yard sent to catch that convict, eh? Well, I have to say the two of you are darn sight prettier than I imagine Scotland Yard's other detectives must be." Mihoshi blushed, and even Kiyone smiled a little. "In fact, I may be able to help you two get your hands on this fellow."

"You can?" Kiyone asked. "How?"

"Let me show you." Motioning at his carriage, the three of us climbed in, and he drove us to his house.

Frankland's home was a small but luxurious abode, with a a small domed room set aside for a large telescope. "Astronomy is a hobby of mine," he explained, "And one day, when I was looking through the scope, when I saw something-and I think the time's about right now. "He allowed each of us to look through the eyepiece. I saw a young girl, who looked about eleven or twelve, dressed in gypsy fashion, running up towards the rocky hills. "I've seen her running back and forth, from town to those hills, every day for the past week. I've been wondering what she could be doing, and when I met you two it hit me-she must be running errands for that convict Z Selden!"

"She could simply be going to the Gypsy camp," Kiyone suggested.

"No no," Frankland retorted. "Gypsy camps always move around, and the gypsies only go into town when they have to, which isn't very ofton. No, that girl must have somehow gotten acquainted with that man, and she's doing favors for him." He grunted. "Miserable buggers, those gypsies are. I've repeatedly petitioned to have them driven out of the county, but Yosho Baskerville lets them stay on his land-or rather he did; hopefully this Sir Tenchi will prove more reasonable."

"This does bear looking into," Kiyone admitted. "Thank you Mr. Frankland."

"Always glad to do my duty on behalf of law and order, madam Inspector," Frankland nodded courteously.

As we left the house, Kiyone looked at me. "Shouldn't you be going back to Baskerville Hall? She asked.

"Well, Sir Tenchi's not expecting me back for several hours," I said. Besides, I wanted a little excitement.

"Yeah Kiyone, besides three against one is better than two," Mihoshi said. "It's not like Dr. Ryoko doesn't have any experience in this sort of thing, and you know she's good with a gun."

Kiyone frowned, then nodded. "All right. But just remember, shoot only if you're shot at." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small revolver."

"No thanks, I brought my own," I said, showing her my big .455 Webley. "Hey, you never know what you might run into out here on the moor."

The three of us had made our way up to the hills where we saw the girl walking. Kiyone was looking down at the rocky mud surface. "Okay, it looks like she went this way." She pointed to a series of small footprints. "They lead this way," and we followed them to a small opening of a cave.

I threw down the cigar I had been smoking, and we went inside It was obvious that someone had been living there-was a blanket and a kerosene lantern, as well as several copies of the London Times-but the blanket wasn't the same as the one Tenchi and I had saw earlier in the cathedral.

Kiyone picked up several volumes of books. "From what I read of Z Selden, he's not much of a reader-hardly likely he'd have copies of 'Plant Poisons and their Antidotes,' and How to Identify Metals by Their Reaction to Fire,' hanging around."

"Ah, maybe he robbed a library?" suggested Mihoshi.

"People rob banks, not libraries," I mumbled. Suddenly, the girl we had seen through the telescope had stepped into the cave. "What are you ladies doing here?" she asked.

"I'm Inspector Kiyone Gregson of Scotland Yard," Kiyone said, "and this is my partner Mihoshi Lestrade."

The gypsy girl then looked at me. "And you're Doctor Ryoko Watson?"

"How'd you know that?" I asked.

She held up my discarded cigar. "What other woman in this area smokes this brand?"

"How do you know what brand-?" Suddenly I looked at her face, and recognized that grin. "Washu!"

Puppet A popped up on her right shoulder-and even was dressed like Washu's disguise. "SHE SURE FOOLED YOU!"

"WASHU IS THE MISTRESS OF DISGUISE!" added Puppet B.

If it wasn't for the danger of ricochets, I would have used those dummies for target practice right then and there.

End of chapter five.

Okay, to readers who've been following this story for a while, I've changed the casting-again. I realized that Z, the villain from the third OVA series, would fit in better for the Selden role than Doctor Clay. Guess why.


End file.
